"When I went to his informational seminar, Dr. Billy was the third bariatric surgeon in four years with whom I was trying to get the gastric-bypass procedure done, on the heels of protracted insurance battles each time. Now, he's the one who has gotten me through the process -- happily, healthfully and realistically.rnrnBig ups to Heather Jacobsen for her long-term help in dealing with insurance issues, and shout-outs to Rose, Becky, Sara, Nancy, Jessica, Sarah, the two Andrew's, Don and the rest of the nursing and office staff, for all of their help in making this journey a joy so far. I actually enjoy myself and find myself looking forward to seeing people when I go in for follow-up appointments or support group meetings.rnrnBut the best testimonials I can offer about Dr. Billy are probably included in a couple of posts I've made on ObesityHelp.com.rnrnI post them here without comment. Both, however, are full, accurate and heartfelt explanations of my experience with Dr. Billy, who was a key factor in one of the best, and worst, days of my life -- Aug. 6, 2008, my surgery date.rnrn---rnrnHi,rnrnDr. Billy was my surgeon, and I had total confidence in him.rnrnLike you, I saw and spoke to several doctors before choosing him. I made that decision because I knew someone who had undergone surgery with him before me, and he had had nothing but good things to say. Also factored in were my own impressions, and those of my mother, who had come along with me to meet Dr. Billy in a private consultation.rnrnThe thing that struck us most with Dr. Billy was the sense of confidence, reassurance and trust that we had in him, almost immediately.rnrnAsk him if he has had any deaths/complications under his watch. I did, and he was honest. I appreciated that beyond measure, and it gave me even more faith in him.rnrnLike it or not, he is very up-front with patients, and puts the burden and responsibility for this journey squarely on their shoulders. To give you an idea, at my first surgery follow-up with him, he walked into the exam room, looked at me, and immediately laid it on the line.rnrn\"Your metabolism is terrible, and you weren't doing that much wrong to begin with,\" he said.rnrn\"This surgery will help you, but you're going to have to work very hard, you're going to have to stick with the program, you're going to have to exercise, and you're going to have to be very disciplined. Or else, it's going to be very easy for you to become a fat woman again.\"rnrnUm, gee, thanks, Dr. Billy, I thought, laughing to myself a little. Oh well, so much for a little encouragement! And this was after a month in which I'd lost 23 pounds, and went in there feeling pretty pleased and proud of myself. I just had another meeting with him the other day, had lost 14 more pounds, and got another, similar warning/reminder.rnrnSo, he has stayed on me, and I'm glad of that. It has really brought home how much I really will have to work at this. Not that I didn't know that before, but my point is, he will confront you with it, and remind you constantly, that this process is largely on you.rnrnIn short, he's good for me, and good for all his patients -- maybe even more than he realizes.rnrnAnd that brings me to the one bad thing concerning him, if you could call it that. rnrnHe is extremely busy -- almost too much so, it sometimes seems. But, that could just be because I know that if every patient is like me, they'd like to have his ear and attention as much as possible. And it isn't, always. rnrnHe has a great staff, and he relies on those people a lot. And there are times when you may have to be OK with that if it is not an emergency situation.rnrnEveryone you see there, from Dr. Billy on down, pays attention to you when you’re with them, though. And I know some patients just take the busy-ness as an indication that a lot of people trust Dr. Billy with their care. Again, I think what will strike you most is his directness, and the sense of trust and reassurance that engenders. rnrnTo me, that was everything.rnrnEven when I had some last-minute nerves before my surgery, the deciding factor for me in going ahead was that, when it came right down to it, I trusted Dr. Billy to bring me through it, and he did.rnrnI had a smooth gastric bypass/gall bladder surgery, and have had an easy, successful recovery so far.rnrnMy only issue has been slow weight loss, thanks to a few factors, and, as I've tried to illustrate, we're working on that, confronting it head-on.rnrnI'd say that that's Dr. Billy’s way, and I like it.rnrn(Note: The above post was written by me on the ObesityHelp.com Web site on Nov. 3, 2008, in response to a request for information/opinions about Dr. Billy by another poster.rnrnThe post below was shared by me on the ObesityHelp.com Web site on Nov. 2, in response to another poster’s concern regarding the timing of her surgery during a time when her father was ill. Both posts have been edited, very slightly, here…for the better, I think, and the gist of each remains).rnrnTake a look at my surgery date – Aug. 6, 2008. I will never forget it, not only because it's the day I had my surgery, but because my father died in the early-morning hours on the day of my operation.rnrnHe died of his cancer/Parkinson's/heart problems a little after 1:30 a.m. With the support of, and at the insistence of, the rest of my family, I was in the operating room less than five hours later.rnrnBefore going under, I told Dr. Billy and his assistant, from the bottom of my heart, to please, please, take care of me. Not so much for myself, but because I really think my mother might have died, herself, had anything happened to me, too, within hours of my dad's death.rnrnThe rest of my family was actually more insistent and more certain that I should go through with my surgery than I was. I thought I should put it off, and nearly did, at the last minute. But then, my mom and siblings, all gathered around my dad's bed in the hospital, with him still lying there an hour after his passing, reminded me that, as much as I might have wanted to, there was nothing I could do for my father at that point.rnrnThey reminded me how long I'd been working toward this goal (three separate attempts in the past four years), and how it was something my dad had thought about and looked forward to, because he wanted to see me looking and feeling better, about both myself and my life.rnrnThat put me in tears, saying, \"But I wanted him to see me.\" rnrnThe other members of my family all smiled, and even laughed a little, at me and my unintended bit of vanity. Then, they all looked at me, and told me that I should go ahead with it, that I needed to go ahead with it, and that Dad would want me to do so.rnrnI decided they were right, and I have come to truly believe that. Delaying the surgery would have served no purpose. My mother did not accompany me to the hospital that morning. My sister-in-law, who actually had had an open gastric-bypass operation eight years earlier with another surgeon, pinch-hitted instead. But that was the only concession made to the events of the day.rnrnAnd, my sister-in-law, too, was impressed with Dr. Billy when he met to talk with her after my surgery had been completed. My mom, heart-broken at losing her husband of 55 years but still concerned about me, wound up visiting me in the hospital with other family members later that day. rnrnAfter 2 1/2 days in the hospital, I went home and stayed at my mom's house for the next seven days, at the end of which a memorial celebration for my dad had been scheduled. I had recovered from surgery relatively easily and well, and was glad to go with the rest of my family to share our memories of my father -- and to see all the 200 or so people in attendance in his honor.rnrnI believe my dad somehow knew what I'd decided about the surgery, and was fine and pleased that I'd gone ahead with it as we'd planned.rnrnThese days, I still think of him often -- every day, in fact -- and I like to think that he's been watching me, and watching over me, all during this journey. rnrnI can’t thank Dr. Billy and his staff enough for helping me through it.rnrn ---rnrnAs a postscript, let me note that, almost seven months later -- somewhat slow loser and relative lightweight though I am -- I've dropped 70 pounds so far.rnrnThat total, by the way, was EXACTLY what Dr. Billy had predicted in my first consultation that I would lose in the first six to seven months. His estimate was \"between 60 and 70 pounds.\"rnrnWell, apparently, it was no guess. The man knows his stuff.rnrnBut then, that was apparent to me almost from the start of this process.rn"
